Friends, Lovers, or Nothing
by QueenNeens
Summary: Caroline and Klaus live together as friends but both secretly have feelings for one another. AU: Human!Verse. One-Shot


**Just a short one shot from a prompt I got on tumblr. I was thinking of possibly turning this into a fic. This scene would obviously be in the middle somewhere. Tell me what you think! Reviews are lovely and make me feel wonderful. Cookies for all who review! :) Enjoy!  
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Caroline already felt slightly better when she entered the loft. She set her bags down by the door but decided to leave her heels on. It was petty, she knew, but Caroline still delighted in the way Klaus eyed her when she wore her nice work clothes.

Walking farther into the loft, she spotted Klaus sitting at the island in the kitchen reading the newspaper. It always fascinated Caroline how intently he read even the smallest articles. He was seemingly hungry for knowledge in any and every subject. It really turned her on.

"Hey." She greeted, moving around the counter to stand next to her friend. "What're you reading about?"

"Nothing important. Just something about school lunches." He said, folding up the paper and placing it next to him.

"Oh, I read about that yesterday. I remember how horrible my school's lunches were. I avoided buying them as much as possible." Caroline laughed. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter and her chin on her hands. She noticed that Klaus couldn't resist a quick glance at her faintly exposed cleavage.

"I swear, some of the things they served _us_ were still alive." He chuckled.

"How's your back?" Caroline inquired.

"Fine, it's fine." Klaus answered, looking somewhere over her shoulder. If his small smile was meant to be reassuring, it failed.

Caroline had to laugh. "You know, for an actor, you really are a bad liar." She informed him.

Brushing a hand over one of his, Caroline stood and started for the couch. "Come, I'll give you a massage."

She stopped as a hand caught her wrist. It was warm on her skin and she thought, for a second, how wonderful it would be if it never let go.

'_You promised yourself you wouldn't think like that anymore. Don't mess it all up now._'

"Wait!" Klaus tugged on her arm just a bit. "Why don't we do it on my bed? It's just more comfortable."

Caroline turned and studied his face for a moment. There was something written on that face she couldn't identify, but she couldn't afford to figure it out just now. She pulled herself back to the present and schooled her face into an obviously fake smile.

"Are you implying something about my couch, Niklaus?" She asked sweetly.

"Only that we'll probably be more comfortable on that ridiculously overpriced mattress you have me sleeping on every night." He responded just as sweetly.

"Hey! It was only slightly overpriced and I don't hear you complaining." She poked him in the chest.

Klaus caught her wrist once more and this time he didn't let go. Caroline could feel his heart beating under her hand; it was quickened and it made her own speed up. It was as if her heart sensed the pace of Klaus' and felt the need to accelerate, to be its equal.

Her eyes darted between their hands and his eyes. This all happened in one seemingly eternal moment.

"My point exactly." Klaus said. "Which is why," He turned and again began pulling Caroline down the hall. "I say we'd be better off in here."

The room looked almost exactly the same as when Klaus moved in. The only difference was the closet, which stood open and nearly full, and the bed, which, though it was made, looked slept in.

"You're so tidy. Who knew?" Caroline mocked.

"What, you never snuck in here when I was away? See what kind of knickers I favor?" The man responded with a smirk.

Caroline scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Please. Give me _some_ credit. I'm not one of your crazed fan-girls."

'_Anymore._' She added silently.

Klaus laughed. "So, where do you want me?" He questioned.

"Pardon?" Caroline asked, eyes wide.

He chuckled again. "For the massage. Where do you want me?"

Caroline nodded slowly. "Sit on the end of the bed, I guess." She motioned for him to sit. "Take off your shirt, too."

Unbuttoning his shirt he said, "I think you should take yours off as well."

Caroline just stared. '_He's kidding, right? It was a joke. He's joking._'

In the blink of an eye, Klaus was closer – too close. When had he moved? She could feel the heat radiating off his newly exposed skin.

"Come now," He said. "I hardly think it's fair that I'm the only one in a state of undress."

"I-I don't…" She stammered.

Klaus just smiled. "Here," He said. "Let me."

He reached for the hem of her blouse and Caroline felt her arms lift involuntarily to allow the garment to be pulled from her body. She closed her eyes and practically felt Klaus' gaze.

Concentrating on keeping herself calm, Caroline started when Klaus placed a hand on her cheek.

"Look at me." He whispered.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking directly into his. What she saw there had her swallowing a gasp.

His eyes that were so startlingly blue, were now dark with lust. The blackness of his pupils threatening to take over completely. His cheeks were tinted a light pink, lips slightly parted, breath ghosting over Caroline's face.

His hold on her changed then. Tightening his grip on her chin, Klaus brought his face within inches of Caroline's.

"It's all right." He spoke. "Just let go."

It was a small chaste kiss. Just a soft press of his lips to hers. Caroline's arms stayed at her side, her hands curled into fists. After a few seconds of getting no response, Klaus pulled back.

He took Caroline's shaking hands and placed them on his shoulders, grasping his own behind her waist.

"Let go." He whispered again.

This time when Klaus placed his lips to hers, Caroline allowed her eyes to drift closed and her lips to part under his. Her mind was washed blissfully clear as their mouths fit perfectly together. Moments later, alarm bells went off in her mind when Klaus' hands slipped to grip her hips.

'_This is bad. You're setting yourself _way_ back. You're kidding yourself if you think you can let this go. Stop this _now_._'

"No." She gasped, pushing him away, hands on his chest. "No. I can't." Her voice broke, betraying her.

She tried to pull away but Klaus wouldn't let her.

"You can! Tell me, why not?" He insisted.

"I can't!" Caroline shouted. She cringed at her outburst. "I can't." She said more quietly. "You don't understand."

"Tell me. Help me." Klaus pleaded.

Caroline's eyes closed again as she heaved a great sigh.

"You don't want to know." She mumbled.

"I do." He implored. "Please look at me."

"Klaus-." Caroline sighed again and looked up at him.

Searching his eyes, Caroline knew she saw warmth, curiosity, and cautious understanding. She also imagined there was want, maybe even need lying in the endless depths of those eyes.

"I don't want to ruin this, what we already have." She finally said.

"You're not ruining anything." Klaus insisted.

"You don't understand." Caroline reiterated. "If this- If we go any further, I'll fall. Hard." Caroline's whole body slumped in sadness as she said it, her eyes now focused on his collarbone. "I tried so hard to convince myself that we could be just friends, that I could get over wanting you. If this continues…" She stopped and swallowed. "I just can't."

"But you can." He stressed. "You can. Let yourself fall." He pulled her closer and brushed away a tear Caroline hadn't realized was there. "I'll catch you." He breathed.

Caroline made an annoyed sound. Finally succeeding in pushing Klaus away she cried, "This isn't one of your movies! We don't get to kiss passionately and then flash forward two years! This is reality. There are consequences to this type of thing."

"Why would I want to skip over two good years with you? We'd miss all the good stuff. Think of all the fun dates, making dinners together, two good anniversaries, not to mention all the sex and even minimal make-up sex. I want to experience all that with you." He said.

Though Klaus had stayed where he was, Caroline was halfway turned toward the door, a pained look on her face. She was trying to make sense of her inner battle. The way he talked so passionately about their could-be relationship made her want to give in completely. There was still a part of her though, that insisted this was doomed to fail, that she would get so, almost irreparably, hurt that it couldn't possibly be worth it.

"If I go through with this," Caroline said clearly, turning back to face Klaus, "There's no turning back for me. Once I let all of the things I've been holding back go, I can't go back to pretending. This would be it."

"I understand," said Klaus. He stepped closer once more and took her face in his hands. "But you won't have to go back. I won't hurt you." He wrapped his arms around Caroline's waist once again and pulled her closer still.

"I'll make you happy." He whispered into her ear.

Caroline felt a shiver run down her spine. He wasn't playing fair.

"I haven't said yes." She breathed.

"But you will." Klaus replied before taking her earlobe between his teeth.

Oh definitely _not_ fair. Caroline tried, but failed, to suppress her whimper.

"How do you know?" She squeaked.

She felt Klaus smile against her cheek.

"Because," he said, pulling back and looking at her straight on. Gazing into Caroline's eyes, Klaus apparently decided against whatever he was about to say, opting instead for, "I know you."

Caroline smiled. "You know I can't resist your charm, you mean."

Klaus rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Something like that."

She felt him start tracing lines up and down her sides and shivered.

"You know you want to." He said in his silkiest voice, his eyes dancing with mischief.

Caroline laughed. "You're pure evil, you know that?"

Klaus just nodded and leaned in halfway, waiting for Caroline to make her choice.

She did.

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****So? Did you like it? Thanks for reading! Review? Even if you didn't like it, I'd like to hear your opinions. *bribes with cookies***


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